Intrapreneur, author (CALM, Good Men Project), coach (Gallup Strengths), teacher (Business, Economics), Head of Sixth Form, and Head of Psychology.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Bullet In Your Head

Ok.

I have finally...finally...at long last written something here because of an online friend (who shall remain nameless to avoid embarrassment).

They keep asking if I've updated it...and it's been a month or more since I said I would...

Not very good eh!

I gotta say though - what a 2007 already? After returning to school, everyone seemed to be totally out of it. I mean exams are enough to send anyone loopy, but with the government introducing new initiatives...well it's enough to drive any teacher up the wall.

Today - a revamped curriculum for geography emphasising global warming for 11-14 year olds. Um...well I teach that...and guess what I'm teaching all about right now? Humankind's effect on ecosystems. Does our government in its infinite wisdom think it can tell us stuff we don't know?

Everyone has an opinion on education because everyone has been a consumer.

But don't teachers get enough stick?

That's not enough for the first month of the year...

...no there's the nightmare of Celebrity Big Brother.

Now don't get me wrong - there's a place for pointless entertainment for the masses:

No escape from the mass mind rapePlay it again JackAnd then rewind the tapeRage Against the Machine, Bullet in your Head

But that's exactly what Big Brother was. Whatever I saw, I felt like my brain was oozing out of my ears and dribbling over the floor. The producers probably do a psychometric analysis of the people going into the house, and pick the most-likely-to-cause-confrontation combinations.

It's put racism right up high on the agenda - as if terrorism hasn't already made people paranoid enough about people with brown skin.

We're fuct.

And you know what? The so-called multicultural society of the UK came out looking bad.

Is Jade Goody a reflection of the UK? And Danielle and Jo?

I actually think it is.

Not so much as racism, but ignorance.

Shilpa handled herself with such grace, and class. Jade, Danielle, and Jo didn't.

I don't think it was racist. It was bullying. It was nasty. It made wonderful television and got Channel 4 increased ratings (even my parents watched it to see what the fuss was about!) But it's a reflection of the ignorance of (some of) the population.

I have this ongoing debate with my year 11 at school about football (their favourite sport) being racist. They point to how many of the players, and fans are black.

But where are the Asians? Where are the black managers? Paul Ince is the only black football manager in this country.

Football is institutionally racist.

Like the police...some say even teaching...

Racism in this country is so transparent, people don't think of it as racism (my year 11 don't know who Stephen Lawrence was).

Perhaps I'm being extreme. But I experience it all the time. Purely because of the colour of my skin, I get all sorts of assumptions made. Scratch the surface and people are surprised: my music taste, style of dress, and opinions are sometimes different from many other people who originate from India.

Where are the head-teachers and senior teachers from ethnic minorities? When will the young black men see their own community members in positions of leadership? The 'House of Commons' is an oxymoron. It doesn't represent the society I experience around me.

And all this provides the backdrop to my day-to-day scene.

To think - someone like me is influencing the young minds of tomorrow.